Hello Again
by Ultrahotpink
Summary: Henri returns from America to find a very changed Agnes, and a surprise he wasn't expecting...


_A/N: A very special thank you to Pemonynen for both suggesting the prompt via tumblr and for betaing for me. This is meant to be a one shot, however if enough people are interested I might be inclined to write more. Enjoy!_

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Agnes was staring in to her cup of lukewarm tea contemplating the news of the day. Mr. Selfridge had told her that she was getting a co-head of displays. She hadn't left Paris to be practically demoted! In fact she'd been reluctant to leave at all if it hadn't been for some heavy persuasion and a large salary to bring her home. And now she would be forced to share it with him. Henri Leclair, her former lover and mentor. Granted, he was a genius and had infinitely more experience than she had, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to work alongside him now, after everything . The fact that he had chosen to tell her that he was leaving her in the middle of the store had gutted her. She'd barely been able to make it to the end of the day, wanting nothing more than to be able to go home and properly grieve him. And then when she'd realised two months after he'd gone…

There was a knock on her door, startling her from her thoughts. She moved to open it a crack. .

"Good Evening." Henri smiled at her. Although still handsome the beard on his face changed him, aged him. "I thought it might be best if we spoke before we met at the store. May I come in?"

"How did you-"

"I'm afraid I asked Harry to give me your address so that we could speak more privately."

"It isn't a good time," she said, attempting to shut the door.

"Please," he stopped the progress of the door with his hand. "I only wish to take up a few moments of your time."

Agnes took a deep breath, he seemed persistent and it was perhaps better to let him in instead of allowing her nosy neighbours to hear her business. "Well alright, but only for a moment and we have to be quiet. The walls are paper thin."

Agnes unlocked the deadbolt before opening the door to him. As he walked past her she noticed that his clothing looked much shabbier than the last time she'd seen him. There weren't any holes or anything but his suit looked very worn. She led him to the sofa and gestured for him to sit down.

Henri unbuttoned his coat as he sat. "I know this must all be a shock to you. I didn't mean for this to happen, exactly-"

"You didn't mean to try and steal my job?" Agnes replied.

"I didn't ask for it. I came to Harry looking for a reference for a job and he offered it to me."

"You could have said no."

Henri stared at his lap. "I'm afraid that I'm not in a position to say no."

"Not in a position to say no." Agnes huffed. "I've worked my tail off for the past five years to get where I am and you swan in from New York-"

Henri shook his head. "I've started off badly. I meant to say that I greatly admire the work you've done in the store and I have no wish to change it, merely to find a way for us to share the job."

Agnes was about to respond when a cry from the next room interrupted them. "Thank you for stopping by, but I think you should go," she said, attempting to get him out of the apartment.

"What was that?" he moved to his feet.

"Must have been the neighbour's kid," she supplied. "Please, let's finish this conversation tomorrow."

"But I could have sworn-" Henri looked down to see a pair of hazel eyes staring at him.

Agnes turned to see what he was looking at and her stomach sank. She looked at her son and then to the man beside her who appeared to be speechless.

"Mama?" the small boy spoke looking between his mother and the tall stranger.

Agnes froze. Perhaps there was something she could say to diffuse the situation to deny what she knew he must be thinking. But looking into the pair of hazel eyes before her looking so forlorn she couldn't deny him.

"There now, what's all this then?" she said moving to crouch down beside her son and taking his hand in hers.

"I had a bad dream." He said tears starting to fill his eyes then.

She picked him up and held him in her arms. "It's alright. You're safe now."

"Who's that man?" he asked.

It was a loaded question that she wasn't sure how to answer. What could she say, he's your Dad but he left us before you were born? Of course she couldn't say that to her son. She glanced at Henri's face, and she could see the look of hurt and confusion running across it. She'd been stupid allowing him into her apartment, so close to the thing she'd cherished most in her life.

"That's Mr. Leclair. He was just-"

"Hello," Henri said moving towards them. "I'm Henri. What's your name?"

No, Agnes thought. Things were fast spiraling out of her control.

The little boy nestled his face into her shoulder before murmuring "Charlie."

"What beautiful name Charlie, it's a pleasure to-"

"I think it's time for bed again," Agnes interrupted "Let's get you a biscuit and tuck you back in eh?"

Charlie nodded and Agnes carried him into the kitchen and moved to the biscuit tin to get him one. He grabbed it happily and began eating it. Henri had followed them and watched them, but said nothing.

When Charlie finished the cookie, Agnes brushed past Henri and moved into one of the two bedrooms and put him on the bed and tucked the covers over his small body.

"Now, close your eyes little one and go to sleep. And when you wake up in the morning I'll be there with big breakfast for you, alright love?" She smoothed his hair back and he nodded and shut his eyes without any fuss. She could feel Henri's presence behind her but she couldn't face him. Not yet. She waited until she heard the deep breathing of her child before moving past Henri and shutting the door to Charlie's room and moving once again to the sofa.

They sat there in silence for a few more minutes. Agnes didn't know what to say.

"He's mine." Henri spoke; it was more of a statement then a question.

Agnes only nodded and looked away. She'd never thought to prepare for this day somehow. In her mind Henri had been in New York and she had been in Paris and then London again. The chances of them ever meeting again seemed so small that it didn't seem worth worrying about. She felt completely at a loss for what to say. Of course he knew that Charlie was his son. He looked almost identical to what she imagined he would have looked like as a child. It had hurt as Charlie had grown older and started to look more and more like Henri.

"He's beautiful." he looked at her and she could only nod again. But then she saw a frown begin to form on his face. "Why didn't you tell me?" he spoke anger starting to fill his voice.

"By the time I realised, you'd already left for America with Valarie."

"And you didn't think I had a right to know about it?"

"You'd left and I didn't know how to find you." She shrugged

"I found you easily enough." he retorted sharply.

"And how would it have looked to Mr. Selfridge if I had asked him for a forwarding address for you? For all anyone else knew, we merely worked together."

"I should have known! You should have found a way to-"

"You left me for another woman! And you choose to tell me in the middle of my place of employment. I was humiliated!" she felt tears starting to sting her eyes. "You didn't want me, you wanted her. What could I have done, written to you and begged you to come back? Forced you to be with your second choice because of this? I have some self-respect."

"I loved her, it's true. But I also loved you. You were two remarkably different women so don't think I didn't struggle with my choice. I went with her because of the history between us. I've spent the last five years wondering if I didn't make the wrong choice." Henri moved his hand to rest it on his cheek. Agnes flinched and moved away.

"I want you to go." Agnes moved to the door and opened it.

"I'm not leaving until we work this out." Henri stood up to face her but didn't move.

Agnes shut the door more forcefully this time seeing that he meant to stand his ground.

"Do you think that you can just come back, after all of these years and tell me that you loved me? And I'm supposed to what, pity you? I had to nurse my broken heart while carrying our child. I had to move on and find a life for us, while you were off in America living it up with your girlfriend."

"You know nothing of my life these past few years and I know nothing of yours, but I choose my path as you chose yours. There has always been a 'I should be here, and I could be there' in my mind no matter what you believe. But it's in the past now, and we should decide how we're going to move forward."

"Move forward?" She didn't see how they possibly could.

"Yes of course." Henri moved towards Agnes and took her hands in his. "I think we should be married."

Agnes stared at him unblinking before shaking her head. "You're mad if you think that I would marry you, after all this time." Agnes ripped her hands from his and moved them to hug her own body more closely so that they were now out of reach to him.

"The boy should have a father." Henri put his hands on his hips and Agnes had the sudden thought of how handsome he was when he was angry. She shook it off not allowing herself to be deterred. She couldn't let him swan in and expect them to be together.

"The boy has a Mother and that's been enough for him. God knows it's more than I had." Agnes recalled the faint memory of a beautiful blonde haired woman with big hazel eyes who left her much too soon. Not to mention her own poor excuse for a father. But the man that stood before her was unlike her father in every way. Even if she had no intention of allowing him back into her heart it would be selfish to deny Charlie the chance to get to know one of his parents.

"You're right." Agnes sighed. "Charlie should have the chance to get to know you. Whatever we shared might be over, but he doesn't deserve to keep being ignorant about his Dad." Agnes could see the emotion brimming in his eyes. She looked away. She needed to be smart about this, and she couldn't while looking into his eyes. "But, if you promise that we will never speak of Charlie at work. Do you agree?"

Agnes looked up. His lips turned into a frown and his eyes darted away from hers. She could see that her request had startled him. His eyes met hers. "Very well," Henri nodded. Agnes began to turn towards the door to open it when she heard him continue. "But, I want to see him twice a week."

"I.." Agnes was about to argue but found that she had nothing to say. "Alright." she nodded.

Henri bowed his head before making eye contact again. "It's late, and I've had many surprises today. I think I should go back to my hotel."

Agnes nodded. "Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow." Henri nodded before opening the door and walking through it.

Agnes closed the door softly and rested against the door and let out a sigh. For better or for worse Henri Leclair had come back into her life. Charlie would know his Dad, she wouldn't deny either of them that any longer, but she was resolved not to lose her head over the handsome Mr. Leclair this time.


End file.
